Dust motions in quasi-statically charged binary asteroid systems

In this paper, we discuss dust motion and investigate possible mass transfer of charged particles in a binary asteroid system, in which the asteroids are electrically charged due to solar radiation. The surface potential of the asteroids is assumed to be a piecewise function, with positive potential on the sunlit half and negative potential on the shadow half. We derive the nonautonomous equations of motion for charged particles and an analytic representation for their lofting conditions. Particle trajectories and temporary relative equilibria are examined in relation to their moving forbidden regions, a concept we define and discuss. Finally, we use a Monte Carlo simulation for a case study on mass transfer and loss rates between the asteroids.     

A family of charge analogue of Durgapal solution

We obtain a new parametric class of exact solutions of Einstein–Maxwell field equations which are well behaved. We present a charged super-dense star model after prescribing particular forms of the metric potential and electric intensity. The metric describing the super dense stars joins smoothly with the Reissner–Nordstrom metric at the pressure free boundary. The electric density assumed is where n may take the values 0,1,2,3,4 and so on and K is a positive constant. For n=0,1 we rediscover the solutions by Gupta and Maurya (Astrophys. Space Sci. 334(1):155, 2011) and Fuloria et al. (J. Math. 2:1156, 2011) respectively. The solution for n=2 have been discussed extensively keeping in view of well behaved nature of the charged solution of Einstein–Maxwell field equations. The solution for n=3 and n=4 can be also studied likewise. In absence of the charge we are left behind with the regular and well behaved fifth model of Durgapal (J. Phys. A 15:2637, 1982). The outmarch of pressure, density, pressure-density ratio and the velocity of sound is monotonically decreasing, however, the electric intensity is monotonically increasing in nature. For this class of solutions the mass of a star is maximized with all degree of suitability, compatible with Neutron stars and Pulsars.     

Bianchi Type-III stiff fluid cosmological model in general relativity

In this paper, we have investigated a tilted Bianchi Type-III stiff fluid cosmological model in general relativity. To get a determinate solution, we have assumed a condition A=(BC) ⁿ between metric potentials. The various physical and geometrical aspects of the model are discussed.     

Region of anomalous compression under Bondi-Hoyle accretion

We investigate the properties of an axisymmetric gas flow without angular momentum onto a small compact object, in particular, on a Schwarzschild black hole in the supersonic region; the velocity of the object itself is assumed to be low compared to the speed of sound at infinity. First of all, we show that the streamlines intersect (i.e., a caustic is formed) on the symmetry axis at a certain distance r _x from the center on the front side if the pressure is ignored. The characteristic radial size of the region in which the streamlines emerging from the sonic surface at an angle no larger than θ₀ to the axis intersect is Δr = r _x θ ₀ ² /3. To refine the flow structure in this region, we have numerically computed the system without ignoring the pressure in the adiabatic approximation. We have estimated the parameters of the inferred region with anomalously high matter temperature and density accompanied by anomalously high energy release.     

A Study of the Coefficient a in the Extended Nonlinear Guiding Center Theory

The diffusion mechanism of charged particles is one of the very im- portant problems in astrophysics. Recently, Matthaeus et al. (2003) developed a nonlinear guiding center theory (NLGC) of the perpendicular diffusion of en- ergetic charged particles with the parallel diffusion coefficient as an input. This theory agrees with the results of numerical simulations very well. In addition, Qin (2007) developed a nonlinear parallel diffusion theory (NLPA) following the idea of NLGC. Combining the NLGC with the NLPA, a new theory, NLGC-E was developed to solve the parallel and perpendicular diffusion coefficients simultaneously. In the NLGC theory, there is a coefficient a² which is selected to be 1/3 for the best agreement with the results of numerical simulations. In this work we tried the different values of a² for the NLGC-E theory to determine the optimal value which ?ts best the results of numerical simulations.     

Coulomb collisional processes in space plasmas; relaxation of suprathermal particle distributions

Nonequilibrium distributions of space plasmas are often characterized by extended high-energy tails. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the relaxation of such isotropic nonequilibrium plasmas. We consider an energetic charged species dilutely dispersed in a fully ionized plasma, which acts as a heat bath at equilibrium. The minor constituent is referred to as a “test particle” and collisions between test particles are not included. We study the approach to equilibrium with a finite difference method of solution of the Fokker-Planck equation appropriate for collisions between charged particles. The solution of the Fokker-Planck equation is also presented formally as an expansion in the eigenfunctions of the Fokker-Planck operator. The main objective of the paper is the calculation of the energy-dependent relaxation times of the distribution function. A strong energy dependence for these relaxation times is anticipated since, for Coulomb collisions, the Rutherford cross-section varies with relative speed g as g⁻⁴. Analogous results for neutral species are presented for comparison in the following paper.     

A time dependent approach to model X-ray and γ–ray light curves of Mrk 421 observed during the flare in February 2010

Strong X-ray and γ–ray flares have been detected in February 2010 from the high synchrotron peaked blazar Mrk 421 (z = 0.031). With the motivation of understanding the physics involved in this flaring activity, we study the variability of the source in X-ray and γ–ray energy bands during the period February 10–23, 2010 (MJD 55237–55250). We use near simultaneous X-ray data collected by MAXI, Swift-XRT and γ–ray data collected by Fermi-LAT and TACTIC along with the optical V-band observations by SPOL at Steward Observatory. We observe that the variation in the one day averaged flux from the source during the flare is characterized by fast rise and slow decay. Besides, the TeV γ–ray flux shows a strong correlation with the X-ray flux, suggesting the former to be an outcome of synchrotron self Compton emission process. To model the observed X-ray and γ–ray light curves, we numerically solve the kinetic equation describing the evolution of particle distribution in the emission region. The injection of particle distribution into the emission region, from the putative acceleration region, is assumed to be a time dependent power law. The synchrotron and synchrotron self Compton emission from the evolving particle distribution in the emission region are used to reproduce the X-ray and γ–ray flares successfully. Our study suggests that the flaring activity of Mrk 421 can be an outcome of an efficient acceleration process associated with the increase in underlying non-thermal particle distribution.     

A well-behaved class of charged analogue of Durgapal solution

We present a well behaved class of charged analogue of M.C. Durgapal (J. Phys. A, Math. Gen. 15:2637, 1982) solution. This solution describes charged fluid balls with positively finite central pressure, positively finite central density; their ratio is less than one and causality condition is obeyed at the centre. The outmarch of pressure, density, pressure-density ratio and the adiabatic speed of sound is monotonically decreasing, however, the electric intensity is monotonically increasing in nature. This solution gives us wide range of parameter for every positive value of n for which the solution is well behaved hence, suitable for modeling of super dense stars. Keeping in view of well behaved nature of this solution, one new class of solution is being studied extensively. Moreover, this class of solution gives us wide range of constant K (0≤K≤2.2) for which the solution is well behaved hence, suitable for modeling of super dense stars like strange quark stars, neutron stars and pulsars. For this class of solution the mass of a star is maximized with all degree of suitability, compatible with quark stars, neutron stars and pulsars. By assuming the surface density ρ _b =2×10¹⁴ g/cm³ (like, Brecher and Capocaso, Nature 259:377, 1976), corresponding to K=0 with X=0..235, the resulting well behaved model has the mass M=4.03M _Θ , radius r _b =19.53 km and moment of inertia I=1.213×10⁴⁶ g?cm²; for K=1.5 with X=0.235, the resulting well behaved model has the mass M=4.43M _Θ , radius r _b =18.04 km and moment of inertia I=1.136×10⁴⁶ g?cm²; for K=2.2 with X=0.235, the resulting well behaved model has the mass M=4.56M _Θ , radius r _b =17.30 km and moment of inertia I=1.076×10⁴⁶ g?cm². These values of masses and moment of inertia are found to be consistent with the crab pulsars.     

A possible current system associated with the Sqp variation

It is suggested that the quiet day daily magnetic variation in the polar cap region, S_q^p, results partly from the short-circuit effect of the magnetotail current by the polar ionosphere. This implies that there is an inward field-aligned current from the dawnside magnetopause to the forenoon sector of the auroral oval (positively charged) and an outward field-aligned current to the duskside magnetopause from the afternoon sector of the oval (negatively charged), together with the ionospheric (Pedersen and Hall) currents. The distribution of the magnetic field vectors of both combined current systems agrees with the observed S_q^pvector distribution. The space charges provide an electric field distribution which is similar to that which has been observed by polar orbiting satellites.     

From Magnitudes to Diameters: The Albedo Distribution of Near Earth Objects and the Earth Collision Hazard

A recently published model of the Near Earth Object (NEO) orbital-magnitude distribution (Bottke et al., 2002, Icarus156, 399-433.) relies on five intermediate sources for the NEO population: the ν₆ resonance, the 3:1 resonance, the outer portion of the main belt (i.e., 2.8-3.5 AU), the Mars-crossing population adjacent to the main belt, and the Jupiter family comet population. The model establishes the relative contribution of these sources to the NEO population. By computing the albedo distribution of the bodies in and/or near each of the five sources, we can deduce the albedo distribution of the NEO population as a function of semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination. A problem with this strategy, however, is that we do not know a priori the albedo distribution of main belt asteroids over the same size range as observed NEOs (diameter D<10 km). To overcome this problem, we determined the albedo distribution of large asteroids in and/or near each NEO source region and used these results to deduce the albedo distribution of smaller asteroids in the same regions. This method requires that we make some assumptions about the absolute magnitude distributions of both asteroid families and background asteroids. Our solution was to extrapolate the observed absolute magnitude distributions of the families up to some threshold value H_thr, beyond which we assumed that the families' absolute magnitude distributions were background-like.We found that H_thr=14.5 provides the best match to the color vs heliocentric distance distribution observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With this value of H_thr our model predicts that the debiased ratio between dark and bright (albedo smaller or larger than 0.089) objects in any absolute-magnitude-limited sample of the NEO population is 0.25±0.02. Once the observational biases are properly taken into account, this agrees very well with the observed C/S ratio (0.165 for H<20). The dark/bright ratio of NEOs increases to 0.87±0.05 if a size-limited sample is considered. We estimate that the total number of NEOs larger than a kilometer is 855±110, which, compared to the total number of NEOs with H<18 (963±120), shows that the usually assumed conversion H=18?D=1 km slightly overestimates the number of kilometer-size objects.Combining our orbital distribution model with the new albedo distribution model, and assuming that the density of bright and dark bodies is 2.7 and 1.3 g/cm³, respectively, we estimate that the Earth should undergo a 1000 megaton collision every 63,000±8000 years. On average, the bodies capable of producing 1000 megaton of impact energy are those with H<20.6. The NEOs discovered so far carry only 18±2% of this collision probability.     

Model for the onset of a magnetospheric substorm

In view of observations which show that a substorm often begins in a small local time sector, a model is assumed in which the neutral sheet current is diverted around a small region we call a bubble. The simplest assumption is that of a linear variation of current with distance from the centre of the bubble in the x-direction in a SM coordinate system, with the diverted current being channelled within narrow paths of width δ_y on the dawn and dusk sides of the bubble. This assumption leads to vector potential integrals that can be evaluated analytically. The addition of this current loop into the magnetotail results in a magnetic field structure where new neutral lines of X- and 0-type can be observed; these are connected to each other as a continuous neutral ring in the xy equatorial plane. The magnetic and electric field components around the neutral regions are calculated, and the time dependent evolution of the neutral ring is studied. Comparison with some published satellite observations shows good agreement. Taking typical values for the various quantities on the basis of actual observations within the magnetotail, we show that the induced electric field is at least comparable to the average cross-tail electrostatic field, and it may well be one or two orders of magnitude greater. The response of the plasma to the induction field is discussed qualitatively. It is concluded that field aligned currents may be produced due to inertial forces of the expanding disturbance. Interpretation of the ground based precipitation patterns of energized particles during auroral breakup is given.     

Ionization states and the origin of low energy cosmic ray nuclei

The origin of the new component of cosmic ray nuclei in 1–30 MeV amu^–1 recently detected through space vehicles in interplanetary space is investigated in detail. It is assumed that these particles may originate from nearby sources, e.g., from novae type explosions, which have peculiar C, N and O compositions. These particles are further assumed to be accelerated and modulated within the heliosphere. The charged states of these ions in the interstellar space have been calculated in detail and it is shown that the same charged states are preserved in the heliosphere when they are accelerated to energies of the order of 10⁷eV amu^–1 from energies of 10⁵ ev amu^–1. Modulation of these ions are calculated and it is found that because of low charged states of the ions these have high rigidities and are modulated in such a way as to enhance the O-ion abundances as compared to C-ions. A comparison is made of the demodulated composition of C to Si-ions with available abundance data of some novae.     

Study of a new class of cylindrically symmetric space-time in general relativity

A new class of solutions of Einstein field equations is investigated for a cylindrically symmetric space-time when the source of gravitation is a perfect fluid. To get the deterministic solution a relation between metric coefficients A=(BC) ⁿ is assumed. Certain physical and geometric properties of the model are also discussed.     

Tunneling of massive and charged particles from noncommutative Reissner-Nordström black hole

Massive charged and uncharged particles tunneling from commutative Reissner-Nordström black hole horizon has been studied with details in literature. Here, by adopting the coherent state picture of spacetime noncommutativity, we study tunneling of massive and charged particles from a noncommutative inspired Reissner-Nordström black hole horizon. We show that Hawking radiation in this case is not purely thermal and there are correlations between emitted modes. These correlations may provide a solution to the information loss problem. We also study thermodynamics of noncommutative horizon in this setup.     

Tilted Bianchi Type I Models with Heat Conduction Filled with Disordered Radiations of Perfect Fluid in General Relativity

In this paper, we have investigated some tilted Bianchi Type I models with heat conduction filled with disordered radiation of perfect fluid. To get a determinate solution, we have assumed a condition A =(BC) ⁿ between metric potentials. Alternatively we have discussed the case A=(BC) ^1/3 for which tilted nature of the model is preserved. The various and geometrical features with singularities in the models are also discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evidence for shock acceleration and intergalactic magnetic fields in a large-scale filament of galaxies ZwCl 2341.1+0000

We report the discovery of large-scale diffuse radio emission from what appears to be a large-scale filamentary network of galaxies in the region of cluster ZwCl 2341.1+0000, and stretching over an area of at least 6 h₅₀⁻¹ Mpc in diameter. Multicolour CCD observations yield photometric redshifts indicating that a significant fraction of the optical galaxies in this region is at a redshift of z=0.3. This is supported by spectroscopic measurements of 4 galaxies in the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (SDSS) survey at a mean z=0.27. We present VLA images at λ=20 cm (NVSS) and 90 cm, showing the detailed radio structure of the filaments. Comparison with the high resolution FIRST radio survey shows that the diffuse emission is not due to known individual point sources. The diffuse radio-emission has a spectral index α≲−0.5, and is most likely synchrotron emission from relativistic charged particles in an inter-galactic magnetic field. Furthermore, this optical/radio structure is detected in X-rays by the ROSAT all-sky survey. It has a 0.1–2.4 keV luminosity of about 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ and shows an extended highly non-relaxed morphology. These observations suggest that ZwCl 2341.1+0000 is possibly a proto-cluster of galaxies in which we are witnessing the process of structure formation. We show that the energetics of accretion shocks generated in forming large-scale structures are sufficient to produce enough high energy cosmic-ray (CR) electrons required to explain the observed radio emission, provided a magnetic field of strength B≳0.3 μG is present there. The latter is only a lower limit and the actual magnetic field is likely to be higher depending on the morphology of the emitting region. Finally, we show results from a numerical simulation of large-scale structure formation including acceleration of CR electrons at cosmological shocks and magnetic field evolution. Our results are in accord with the observed radio synchrotron and X-ray thermal bremsstrahlung fluxes. Thus we conclude that the reported radio detection is the first evidence of cosmic-ray particle acceleration taking place at cosmic shocks in a magnetized inter-galactic medium over scales of ≳5 h₅₀⁻¹ Mpc.